President John Mahama says the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) will be deployed for more emergency operations and national development projects as part of efforts to make better use of the country’s existing resources.

He said the military’s involvement in the evacuation of waste from Agbogbloshie demonstrates what can be achieved when state institutions coordinate their resources towards addressing national challenges.

President Mahama made the remarks before formally declaring the evacuation of accumulated waste from Agbogbloshie to the Adepa Engineered Landfill Site on Friday, September 18.

“Secondly, this exercise demonstrates what we can achieve through coordinated efforts across government,” he said.

He explained that the Ministry of Finance was providing funding, with additional support from the District Assemblies Common Fund, while the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs was leading the exercise.

The GAF, particularly the 48 Engineer Regiment, have been deployed to provide operational and engineering support for the exercise.

President Mahama noted that the regiment had recently gained recognition for its role in clearing the Accra-Kumasi Expressway and said it would be assigned further national tasks.

“We are now mobilising them to clear Agbogloshie; after that, I have a lot of work for them. They have more tasks. Soldiers will not only go to war. They will also be used for emergency operations,” he said.

He thanked the Chief of the Defence Staff, the military leadership and all personnel assigned to the operation, stressing the importance of the Armed Forces to national development.

“The Ghana Armed Forces play an important role in national development. Your engineering expertise, logistics capacity, and discipline will be invaluable in ensuring that this work proceeds safely and efficiently,” he said.

The President also disclosed that the Ministry of Roads and Highways had mobilised private road contractors to contribute equipment to the exercise.

Several private road contractors, he said, had pledged to provide dump trucks and other equipment to supplement the District Road Improvement Programme (DRIP) machinery deployed for the waste evacuation.

President Mahama said the coordinated approach was consistent with the government’s objective of making effective use of public institutions, equipment and resources to address longstanding national challenges.

The waste evacuation forms part of a broader plan to clear the Agbogloshie site and subsequently redevelop the reclaimed land under the proposed Agbogloshie Urban Land Renewal Project.